The past two decades have observed a growing research interest in understanding the impact of ethical organizational context on public employee work attitudes. This study contributes to this growing body of literature on the link between ethics and management by examining how public agencies’ level of ethical work climate (EWC) influences agency-level work motivation and turnover intention rate (measured separately as intention to transfer to another agency and intention to leave the federal government). An organizational-level analysis of federal government data shows that EWC is a critical element of a desirable workplace where employees are motivated to work hard. A federal agency's level of EWC is also associated with the agency's transfer intention rate, but not with the agency's rate of employees intending to leave the federal government. The paper discusses implications of the research findings and concludes by discussing its limitations and making suggestions for future research.
AdamsG. A., & BeehrT. A. (1998). Turnover and retirement: A comparison of their similarities and differences. Personnel Psychology, 51(3), 643–665.
2.
AhmedP, & MacholdS. (2004). The quality of ethics connection: Toward virtuous organizations. Total Quality Management, 15(4), 527–545.
3.
BaeK. B., & GoodmanD. (2014). The influence of family-friendly policies on turnover and performance in South Korea. Public Personnel Management, 43(4), 520–542.
4.
BaldwinJ. N. (1990). Perceptions of public versus private sector personnel and informal red tape: Their impact on motivation. The American Review of Public Administration, 20(1), 7–28.
5.
BermanE. M., BowmanJ. S., WestJ. P., & Van WartM. R. (2016). Human resource management in public service: Paradoxes, processes, and problems. (5th edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
6.
BertelliA. M. (2007). Determinants of bureaucratic turnover intention: Evidence from the Department of the Treasury. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 17(2), 235–258.
7.
BowmanJ. S., & WestJ. P. (2014). Public service ethics: Individual and institutional responsibilities. Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ Press.
8.
BrewerG. A. (2006). All measures of performance are subjective: More evidence on US federal agencies. In BoyneG. A., MeierK. J., O'TooleL. J., & WalkerR. M. (Eds.), Public service performance: Perspectives on measurement and management (pp. 35–54). Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press.
9.
BrownM. E., TrevinoL. K., & HarrisonD. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97(2), 117–134.
10.
CaillierJ. G. (2016). Does satisfaction with family-friendly programs reduce turnover? A panel study conducted in US federal agencies. Public Personnel Management, 45(3), 284–307.
11.
CampbellJ. W. (2016). A collaboration-based model of work motivation and role ambiguity in public organizations. Public Performance & Management Review, 39(3), 655–675.
12.
CarnevaleD. G. (1992). Physical settings of work: A theory of the effects of environmental form. Public Productivity & Management Review, 15(4), 423–436.
13.
ChoiJ. N., & ChangJ. Y. (2009). Innovation implementation in the public sector: An integration of institutional and collective dynamics. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(1), 245–253.
14.
CooperT. L. (2012). The responsible administrator: An approach to ethics for the administrative role (6th eds.,) San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
15.
CroonM. A., & van VeldhovenM. J. (2007). Predicting group-level outcome variables from variables measured at the individual level: A latent variable multilevel model. Psychological Methods, 12(1), 45–57.
16.
CullenJ. B., ParboteeahK. P., & VictorB. (2003). The effects of ethical climates on organizational commitment: A two-study analysis. Journal of Business Ethics, 46(2), 127–141.
DeConinckJ., DeConinckM. B., & BanerjeeD. (2013). Outcomes of an ethical work climate among salespeople. International Journal of Business Administration, 4(4), 1–8.
19.
DeConinckJ. B., & StilwellC. D. (2004). Incorporating organizational justice, role states, pay satisfaction and supervisor satisfaction in a model of turnover intentions. Journal of Business Research, 57(3), 225–231.
20.
De SchrijverA., DelbekeK., MaesschalckJ., & PleysierS. (2010). Fairness perceptions and organizational misbehavior: An empirical study. The American Review of Public Administration, 40(6), 691–703.
21.
DeshpandeS. P. (1996). Ethical climate and the link between success and ethical behavior: An empirical investigation of a non-profit organization. Journal of Business Ethics, 15(3), 315–320.
22.
DowneJ., CowellR., & MorganK. (2016). What determines ethical behavior in public organizations: Is it rules or leadership?Public Administration Review, 76(6), 898–909.
23.
ErtasN. (2015). Turnover intentions and work motivations of millennial employees in federal service. Public Personnel Management, 44(3), 401–423.
24.
FaveroN., & BullockJ. B. (2014). How (not) to solve the problem: An evaluation of scholarly responses to common source bias. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 25(1), 285–308.
25.
FeldmanD. C. (1994). The decision to retire early: A review and conceptualization. Academy of Management Review, 19(2), 285–311.
26.
FernandezS., ReshW. G., MoldogazievT., & OberfieldZ. W. (2015). Assessing the past and promise of the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey for public management research: A research synthesis. Public Administration Review, 75(3), 382–394.
27.
FerrellO. C., & GreshamL. G. (1985). A contingency framework for understanding ethical decision making in marketing. The Journal of Marketing, 49(3), 87–96.
28.
FerrellO. C., & SkinnerS. J. (1988). Ethical behavior and bureaucratic structure in marketing research organizations. Journal of Marketing Research, 25(1), 103–109.
29.
FournierC., TannerJ. F.Jr, ChonkoL. B., & ManolisC. (2010). The moderating role of ethical climate on salesperson propensity to leave. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 30(1), 7–22.
30.
GagnéM., & ForestJ. (2008). The study of compensation systems through the lens of self-determination theory: Reconciling 35 years of debate. Canadian Psychology, 49(3), 225–232.
31.
GajendranR. S., & HarrisonD. A. (2007). The good, the bad, and the unknown about telecommuting: Meta-analysis of psychological mediators and individual consequences. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(6), 1524–1541.
32.
Government Accountability Office (GAO). (2015). Inspectors General: Additional efforts needed by the Department of Commerce OIG to address audit coverage, hotline operations, and employee concerns. (GAO Publication No. 15–260). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
33.
GrojeanM. W., ResickC. J., DicksonM. W., & SmithD. B. (2004). Leaders, values, and organizational climate: Examining leadership strategies for establishing an organizational climate regarding ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 55(3), 223–241.
34.
HanY., & HongS. (2016). The impact of accountability on organizational performance in the US federal government: The moderating role of autonomy. Review of Public Personnel Administration, DOI: 0734371X16682816.
35.
HassanS., WrightB. E., & YuklG. (2014). Does ethical leadership matter in government? Effects on organizational commitment, absenteeism, and willingness to report ethical problems. Public Administration Review, 74(3), 333–343.
36.
HibbingJ. R. (1982). Voluntary retirement from the U. S. House: The costs of congressional service. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 7(1), 57–74.
37.
HicksA. (1994). Introduction to Pooling, In JanoskiT. & HicksA. M. (Eds.), The comparative political economy of the welfare state (pp. 169–188), New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
38.
ItaniO. S., JaramilloF., & ChonkoL. (2017). Achieving top performance while building collegiality in sales: It all starts with ethics. Journal of Business Ethics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3598-z.
39.
JakobsenM., & JensenR. (2015). Common method bias in public management studies. International Public Management Journal, 18(1), 3–30.
40.
JaramilloF., MulkiJ. P., & SolomonP. (2006). The role of ethical climate on salesperson's role stress, job attitudes, turnover intention, and job performance. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 26(3), 271–282.
41.
JayaweeraT. (2015). Impact of work environmental factors on job performance, mediating role of work motivation: A study of hotel sector in England. International Journal of Business and Management, 10(3), 271–278.
42.
JungC. S. (2010). Predicting organizational actual turnover rates in the US federal government. International Public Management Journal, 13(3), 297–317.
43.
Kish-GephartJ. J., HarrisonD. A., & TreviñoL. K. (2010). Bad apples, bad cases, and bad barrels: Meta-analytic evidence about sources of unethical decisions at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(1), 1–31.
44.
KuenziM., & SchminkeM. (2009). Assembling fragments into a lens: A review, critique, and proposed research agenda for the organizational work climate literature. Journal of Management, 35(3), 634–717.
45.
LeeS., & HongJ. H. (2011). Does family-friendly policy matter? Testing its impact on turnover and performance. Public Administration Review, 71(6), 870–879.
46.
LewisC. W. & GilmanS. C. (2012). The Ethics challenge in public service: A problem-solving guide (3rd eds.,) San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
47.
LewisG. B. (1991). Turnover and the quiet crisis in the federal civil service. Public Administration Review, 51(2), 145–155.
48.
MartinK. D., & CullenJ. B. (2006). Continuities and extensions of ethical climate theory: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Business Ethics, 69(2), 175–194.
49.
McGrawK. O., & WongS. P. (1996). Forming inferences about some intraclass correlation coefficients. Psychological Methods, 1(1), 30–46.
50.
MeierK. J., & O'TooleL. J. (2013). Subjective organizational performance and measurement error: Common source bias and spurious relationships. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 23(2), 429–456.
51.
MenzelD. C. (2015). Research on ethics and integrity in public administration: Moving forward, looking back. Public Integrity, 17(4), 343–370.
52.
MulkiJ. P., JaramilloJ. F., & LocanderW. B. (2008). Effect of ethical climate on turnover intention: Linking attitudinal-and stress theory. Journal of Business Ethics, 78(4), 559–574.
53.
OstroffC., KinickiA. J., & ClarkM. A. (2002). Substantive and operational issues of response bias across levels of analysis: An example of climate-satisfaction relationships. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(2), 355–368.
54.
PallantJ. (2013). SPSS survival manual: A step by step guide to data analysis using SPSS. London, UK: McGraw-Hill Education.
55.
ParkS., & WordJ. (2012). Driven to service: Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for public and nonprofit managers. Public Personnel Management, 41(4), 705–734.
56.
PatchenM. (1970). Participation, achievement, and involvement on the job. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
57.
PittsD., MarvelJ., & FernandezS. (2011). So hard to say goodbye? Turnover intention among US federal employees. Public Administration Review, 71(5), 751–760.
58.
RaineyH. (2001). Work motivation. In GolembiewskiR. T. (Eds.), Handbook of organizational behavior (pp. 19–39). New York, NY: Marcel Dekker.
59.
SchaubroeckJ. M., HannahS. T., AvolioB. J., KozlowskiS. W. J., LordR. G., TreviñoL. K., DimotakisN., & PengA. C. (2012). Embedding ethical leadership within and across organization levels. Academy of Management Journal, 55 (5), 1053–1078.
60.
ScheinE. H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership (4th eds.,) San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
61.
SchneiderB. (1975). Organizational climates: An essay. Personnel Psychology, 28(4), 447–479.
62.
SchneiderB., & ReichersA. E. (1983). On the etiology of climates. Personnel psychology, 36(1), 19–39.
63.
SchwepkerC. H.Jr (2001). Ethical climate's relationship to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention in the salesforce. Journal of Business Research, 54(1), 39–52.
64.
SchwepkerC. H., FerrellO. C., & IngramT. N. (1997). The influence of ethical climate and ethical conflict on role stress in the sales force. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 25(2), 99–108.
65.
SirkinR. M. (2006). Statistics for the social sciences (3rd ed.,) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
66.
StewartR., VolponeS. D., AveryD. R., & McKayP. (2011). You support diversity, but are you ethical? Examining the interactive effects of diversity and ethical climate perceptions on turnover intentions. Journal of Business Ethics, 100(4), 581–593.
67.
StavrouE. T. (2005). Flexible work bundles and organizational competitiveness: A crossnational study of the European work context. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(8), 923–947.
68.
StudenmundA. H. (2011). Using econometrics: A practical guide. (6th edition). New York, NY: Addison-Wesley.
69.
SvaraJ. (2014). Who are the keepers of the code? Articulating and upholding ethical standards in the field of public administration. Public Administration Review, 74(5), 561–569.
70.
TekleabA. G., BartolK. M., & LiuW. (2005). Is it pay levels or pay raises that matter to fairness and turnover?Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(8), 899–921.
71.
ThalerJ. & HelmigB. (2016). Do codes of conduct and ethical leadership influence public employees' attitudes and behaviours? An experimental analysis. Public Management Review, 18(9), 1365–1399.
VictorB., & CullenJ. B. (1987). A theory and measure of ethical climate in organizations. Research in corporate social performance and policy, 9(1), 51–71.
74.
VictorB., & CullenJ. B. (1988). The organizational bases of ethical work climates. Administrative Science Quarterly, 33(1), 101–125.
75.
WadsworthL. L., FacerR. L., & ArbonC. A. (2010). Alternative work schedules in local government: Cui bono?Review of Public Personnel Administration, 30(3), 322–340.
76.
WeeksW., LoeT.ChonkoL., MartinezC., & WakefieldK. (2006). Cognitive moral development and the impact of perceived organizational ethical Climate on the search for sales force excellence: A cross-cultural study. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 26(2), 205–217.
WhiteD. W. & LeanE. (2008). The impact of perceived leader integrity on subordinates in a work team environment. Journal of Business Ethics, 81(4), 765–778.
79.
WhitfordA. B., & LeeS. Y. (2014). Exit, voice, and loyalty with multiple exit options: Evidence from the US federal workforce. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 25(2), 373–398.
80.
WrightB. E. (2001). Public-sector work motivation: A review of the current literature and a revised conceptual model. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 11(4), 559–586.
81.
WrightB. E., (2004). The role of work context in work motivation: A public sector application of goal and social cognitive theories. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 14(1), 59–78.
82.
WrightB. E. (2007). Public service and motivation: Does mission matter?Public Administration Review, 67(1), 54–64.
83.
WrightB. E., HassanS., & ParkJ. (2016). Does a public service ethic encourage ethical behaviour? Public service motivation, ethical leadership and the willingness to report ethical problems. Public Administration, 94(3), 647–663.
84.
YeagerS. J., HildrethW. B., MillerG. J., & RabinJ. (2007). The relative effects of a supervisory emphasis on ethical behavior versus political responsiveness. Public Integrity, 9(3), 265–283.
